The Present Disclosure relates, generally, to connecting devices.
Connecting devices have been proposed in which magnets are used to connect cables. An example is disclosed in Japanese Patent Application No. 1993-156104, the content of which is hereby incorporated in its entirety herein.
FIGS. 8A and 8B are a pair of perspective views of conventional connecting devices of the prior art, in which FIG. 8A is a perspective view of the connecting device on the fixed side, and FIG. 8B is a perspective view of the connecting device on the cable side. In FIG. 8A, 811 is the housing for the pin connectors in the fixed-side connecting device which is connected, for example, to the edge of a circuit board (not shown). Also, 861 denotes pin contacts molded in the housing 811, which protrude from the front surface of the housing 811. The other end (not shown) of the pin contacts 861 are connected electrically to a connection portion of the circuit board using a connecting means such as soldering.
A magnet 871, having an L-shaped planar profile, is arranged at both the left and right ends of the housing 811. The magnet 871 on the right side in the figure has the north pole arranged on the inside in the transverse direction of the housing 811, and has the south pole arranged on the side protruding forward on the outside in the transverse direction. The magnet 871 on the left side in the figure has the south pole arranged on the inside in the transverse direction of the housing 811, and has the north pole arranged on the side protruding forward on the outside in the transverse direction. The tiered surface between the north and south poles of each magnet 871 is an inclined guiding surface 872 open towards the outside.
In FIG. 8B, 911 denotes the housing for the cable connector or cable-side connecting device, and is affixed to the rear surface of a band-like cable 991 composed of a flexible printed circuit. Also, 992 denotes the band-like contacts or wires partially exposed in the front surface by removing the coating from the band-like cable 991.
A magnet 971, also having an L-shaped planar profile, is arranged at both the left and right ends of the housing 911. The magnet 971 on the right side in the figure has the north pole arranged on the inside in the transverse direction of the housing 911, and the south pole arranged on the outside in the transverse direction. The magnet 971 on the left side in the figure has the south pole arranged on the inside in the transverse direction of the housing 911, and the north pole arranged on the outside in the transverse direction. The tiered surface between the north and south poles of each magnet 971 is an inclined guiding surface 972 closed towards the inside.
When the pin connector and cable connector are connected, the orientation of the pin connector and/or cable connector is adjusted so that both front ends face each other. Here, the north and south poles of the magnets 871 in the pin connector face the south and north poles of the magnets 971 in the cable connector, and the connectors are connected by the magnetic force.
However, conventional connectors can only be used to connect a band-like cable 991 to a circuit board. They cannot be used to connect a band-like cable to another band-like cable. With the dramatic increase in the amount of information transmitted to electronic devices in recent years, many believe that waveguides, which are able to transmit electromagnetic waves in higher bandwidths, will replace conventional cables. However, conventional connecting devices cannot be used to connect waveguides to each other.